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May 2022

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178 articles

May 20
- Crazy Tube Circuits’ Super Conductor packs four analogue boost circuits into one compact pedal
- Watch Marcus King unleash blazing slide guitar on the dark, brooding groove of new track Rescue Me
- The story of Grace Jones’ Slave to the Rhythm: tempo changes, stacked Roland synth patches and Trevor Horn
- The Cure’s Robert Smith issues new album update
- Rancid’s virtuoso of punk bass guitar Matt Freeman is selling his gear on Reverb
- The EVH Wolfgang Standard in Gold Sparkle is out now – a premium finish for a mid-priced shred machine
- Welcome to the Qun show: mk2 mini synth costs just $155
- Vangelis, 1943-2022: a synth and recording titan
May 19
- Vangelis dies, age 79: Blade Runner and Chariots Of Fire composer was one of electronic music’s towering figures
- A new level of delay pedal? The new Meris LVX Modular Delay System means serious business
- The producer's guide to arps, riffs and sequences
- Audient teases a new EVO audio interface that offers “a new way of doing things”
- Players' player Shawn Tubbs now has a signature REVV Tilt overdrive pedal
- The Gibson ES-355 that broke up Oasis sells for £325,000 – but it's not the Noel Gallagher guitar his forthcoming 355 signature model is based on
- Harold Faltermeyer’s Top Gun Anthem was originally intended for a Chevy Chase comedy, but then Billy Idol got involved
- Classic album: Tim Deluxe on The Radicle
- "We could become the screaming Eagles" – Alexisonfire's Dallas Green and Wade MacNeil give us an exclusive breakdown of new single Sans Soleil and their comeback album's deeper collaborative approach
May 18
- Universal Audio brings the sound of Motown to UAD Spark and Apollo users
- "As much as we guitarists love to solo, 90% of guitar in most music is rhythm playing so it’s essential you're good at it" – UK session guitarist Ryan Robinson talks advice, tone and why he built an Eddie Van Halen Frankenstrat tribute
- Just Her: 5 things I've learned in music production
- Roosevelt and Nile Rodgers release new single Passion, a spangly ode to Studio 54
- Roland’s Zenbeats 3.0 mobile music creation app adds a new drum sampler and more
- Chad Smith and Matt Cameron: Rolling Stone Taylor Hawkins quotes were "sensationalised" and "out of context"
- See the new features added to Nicky Romero Kickstart 2 in action
- "If we do this correctly, I think this could be one of the best blues songs ever!” – the story of Joe Bonamassa's version of Sloe Gin
- 6 powerful synths for ambient music
May 17
- “No matter what I’m writing, I’m writing a soundtrack to a somewhat imaginary world” – remembering Chris Cornell: the unsung guitarist
- Ernie Ball Music Man rolls out new five-string DarkRay and a pair of exquisitely shreddable Jason Richardson Cutlass electric guitars
- Best overdrive pedals 2022: Find new inspiration with 14 of the best drive pedals for guitar
- Best delay pedals 2022: add dimension to your tone with pedals from Boss, Strymon, Electro-Harmonix and more
- Best fuzz pedals 2022: put some extra dirt in your guitar tone
- Best metal guitars 2022: 12 riff machines for any budget
- Best cheap electric guitars 2022: 10 epic budget electrics
- Walrus Audio unveils the Badwater, an all-in-one bass preamp and DI pedal with onboard compressor
- Best acoustic guitars for beginners 2022: strum your first chords with the top beginner acoustic guitars
- Best beginner electric guitars 2022: 10 top electric guitars for beginners
- Best electric guitar pickups 2022: single-coil, humbucker, P-90 and active pickups for all styles
- Taylor Hawkins allegedly raised concerns over Foo Fighters’ touring schedule prior to his death
- Best acoustic guitar pickups 2022: options for every type of acoustic guitarist, from strummers to percussive players
- Best guitar picks 2022: our expert choice of the best plectrums for acoustic, electric and bass
- Best guitar cables 2022: leads and patch cables for all budgets
- The Guitarwrist and Gibson upcycle used guitar strings to make sustainable jewellery and raise money for charity
- Best guitar wireless systems 2022: cut the cord and liberate your playing today
- Eric Clapton cancels shows after testing positive for Covid-19
- Best metal amps 2022: time to unleash hell with these heavyweight heads and combos
- Best samplers 2022: 16 top picks for every use and price
- Best budget guitar amps under $500/£500 2022: top cheap amps for smaller budgets
- Best bass guitars 2022: four-string and five-string bass guitars for every budget
- Ricky Gardiner, guitar player with David Bowie and Iggy Pop, dies aged 73
- Best bass strings 2022: vintage and modern string sets for every style and budget
- Best drum machines 2022: for every application and budget
- 10 of the greatest drum breaks of all time and where you can hear them
- Best USB microphones 2022: 11 all-in-one mics for streaming, vlogging, podcasts and voiceovers
- Best headphones for digital piano 2022: over-ear options for every budget
- Best drumsticks 2022: wooden and synthetic sticks for beginner and pro drummers
- Best headphones for drummers 2022: sound isolation for the studio, rehearsal room and stage
- Nektar Impact LX Mini is the compact 25-note MIDI controller with the big feature set
- Lightweight but heavy on features: are Blackstar's new St James heads and combos the holy grail of contemporary valve amps?
May 16
- SampleRadar: 371 found sound percussion samples
- Roland Juno-60 vs Roland Juno-X: here’s a side-by-side comparison
- Get Drake producer Noah “40” Shebib’s “Very Own” keys and drums in your DAW, courtesy of Native Instruments
- See some of the great guitarists and bassists who use Elixir® Strings in action
- Get 50% off Guitar Rig Pro 6 while offer lasts!
- The “world’s first look” at the Behringer UB-Xa synth just landed
- ACT!: "Modular is totally unpredictable - once you start patching you can end up anywhere"
- Paul Gilbert’s 1987 Custom Ibanez pink ‘Ice-Stroyer’ is up for sale for $18,500
- Check out Dave Lombardo’s Paiste cymbal setup for Testament tour
- Watch John Mayer and Alexander 23 cover Tears For Fears’ Everybody Wants To Rule The World
May 14
- "My newest invention is an amp capo. It's being manufactured as we speak" – Classic interview: Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel
- Superbooth 2022: As it happened
- "I handed him a guitar he had never played, and an amp he never played. He plugged it straight in, turned it all the way up, and it sounded exactly like Billy Gibbons" – The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach on their new album's special guest
May 13
- Superbooth 2022: the best new synths, grooveboxes, modules and unexpected oddities
- Tape Audio launches TWO, a drive pedal with germanium and silicon circuits, a wide range of gain, and no tone controls
- Silverburst Strats and Teles? Squier releases FSR line, adding new finish options to Affinity, Classic Vibe and Paranormal series models
- Best beginner electronic drum sets 2022: affordable and accessible kits to get you started on your drumming journey
- Best semi-hollow guitars 2022: 10 killer semi-acoustics for all styles and abilities
- Superbooth 2022: Check out the OP-1 field synth and TX-6 mixer in action - here’s what a $3,200 spend with Teenage Engineering gets you
- Superbooth 2022: Dreadbox has a dirty little DIY groove synth called Dysmetria
- Superbooth 2022: Bitwig Studio 4.3 arrives with new convolution and delay effects
- Solid Gold FX’s fresh drip serves up a totally redesigned Surf Rider IV modulated spring reverb pedal
May 12
- How an uncirculated 1960 Gibson Les Paul Burst guitar that cost £50 was recently discovered in the UK
- Superbooth 2022: Eventide’s Misha instrument and sequencer promises “a new way to make music”
- Best portable PA systems 2022: Lightweight and mobile PA solutions for musicians and events
- Superbooth 2022: We need to torque about Gamechanger Audio’s Motor Synth MkII
- Superbooth 2022: IK Multimedia’s Uno Synth Pro is back in black
- Can Lava Music take smart guitars to a new level with its new Blue Lava?
- A lot of the Beatles Blackbird guitar lessons online are wrong: one YouTuber puts things right with this tutorial
- Superbooth 2022: “Let’s Play” - Polyend releases super-flexible sample and MIDI groovebox
- Pink Floyd: David Gilmour isn't ruling out future live shows
- Superbooth 2022: Teenage Engineering announces new OP-1 field - “louder, thinner and 100 times better”
May 11
- Superbooth 2022: Bastl’s Pizza is a tasty-looking Eurorack oscillator module that could take some topping
- Best budget studio headphones 2022: Our top cheap picks for every studio task
- See Charlie Starr fitting right in as guitarist in the Black Crowes
- Save a huge £1,955 off the Soundwide intro plugin bundle and get 15 industry-standard plugins for just £44.95
- 4 ways to get more from your wah pedal
- See Lucy Dacus blur the lines between acoustic and electric tones with Fender's Acoustasonic Player Telecaster
- Apple says goodbye to the iPod, the music player that changed the world
- John Mayer signs fan's Klon Centaur pedal onstage and dials in his settings
- Arturia's V Collection 9 is updated, expanded and reinvigorated for the modern producer
May 10
- "I'm a little bit of a barbarian when I play" – James Hetfield reveals the two players from the metal and punk worlds that helped develop his guitar style
- Is Gibson's 24-fret Dave Mustaine Songwriter model its boldest signature acoustic guitar design yet?
- Superbooth 2022: Oberheim is back with the OB-X8, an analogue love letter to its ‘80s synths
- Heather Brown returns with the Sensation Fuzzdrive – a pedal to “push your signal hard without the chaos”
- Mattoverse Electronics’ Warble Swell Echo MkII makes “lo-fi echo exploration” easy with 8 selectable waveforms
- Watch Tim Henson and Scott LePage unleash nuevo flamenco nylon-string guitar on new Polyphia single Playing God
- Diana Ross and Tame Impala announce collaborative single for Minions: The Rise of Gru
- Superbooth 2022: Arturia’s V Collection 9 gets a Korg MS-20 and reboots some old favourites
- Toro y Moi: "I'm not much of a plugin guy. I just use hardware!"
- Johnny Marr teases new signature Fender Jaguar
- Superbooth 2022: Erica Synths announces Syntrx II and LXR Eurorack drum module
- How to use modular synths to create ambient music
- Roland’s new Aira Compact range puts TR drums, 303 basslines and Juno synth sounds in your pocket
- Superbooth 2022: Korg’s NTS-2 is a ‘studio Swiss Army Knife’ that ships with a semi-modular synth book
May 9
- Robin Trower interview: "I think you have to up your game every time"
- Bag £980 of free plugins when you buy an Apollo Twin or Apollo Solo Heritage Edition interface at Thomann
- Donner dishes up the affordable B1 bass synth, which promises 303-style specs and a “beginner-friendly” interface
- Producer John Leckie on recording Radiohead classic Fake Plastic Trees: “There were so many demos that sounded like major songs, but that one was near the top of the list"
- Best podcast mixers 2022: the central hub of your podcasting setup
- "I wanted a guitar that would do everything" – Simon McBride explains why PRS 408 is his number one guitar
- Tracktion Software delivers Chop Suey, a new kick drum designer plugin with a difference
- See Eric Clapton's return to the Royal Albert Hall
- How to get started (and get paid) composing library music
- Mix engineer Pascal Pahl on why Kali Audio studio monitors were the only choice when he set up a Dolby Atmos rig in his studio
- SampleRadar: 485 free DnB essentials samples
- Pearl Jam pay tribute to Taylor Hawkins with Cold Day In The Sun cover
May 6
- An artist has built an electric guitar out of 2,000 coloured pencils
- Watch Matt Heafy give an hour-long video lesson in how to play his favourite Trivium riffs
- Superbooth 2022: rumours, teasers and leaks
- Apple heads to Skywalker Ranch to discover the sound secrets of Star Wars
- Seymour Duncan unveils a trio of humbuckers to help you nail Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young and Peter Green’s tone
- Paiste officially welcomes Chad Smith as a cymbal endorsee
- S. Carey: "The three of us went out to California and essentially built a studio"
- Watch Brian May perform Spanish language version of Another World, Otro Lugar, in the shadow of a volcano
- Best 7-string guitars 2022: the top pro and cheap 7-string guitars
- Metal producer Jens Bogren is promising “a one-knob revolution for album-ready guitars”
- Source Audio launches the Atlas Compressor, a greatest hits of compression packed with functionality
- Best multi-effects pedals 2022: 10 of the best all-in-one guitar FX modellers
May 5
- Best acoustic guitar mics 2022: our pick of microphones for recording your acoustic guitar
- The sleekest Harley Benton Fusions yet emerge from the shadows with two new EMG HT SBK guitars
- Oberheim OB-X8 leaked: the legendary analogue polysynth returns
- Best electric guitar strings 2022: sets for all styles and budgets
- Aslice is the new software tool that's making sure dance music producers get paid
- Chad Smith announces he is no longer playing Sabian cymbals
- Best acoustic guitar strings 2022: get the most from your acoustic
- Best signature guitars 2022: Nail the tone of everyone from Van Halen to St Vincent with these stellar artist models
- "I don't want digital things… f**k your computer, man" – The Black Crowes on keeping it analogue covering Bowie, Bolan and the Rolling Stones on new EP 1972
- IK Multimedia's iRig Pro Quattro I/O is a brutish 4-channel field recording audio interface
- "It got heavy sometimes" – Steve Jones breaks down the myths and music of the Sex Pistols' Never Mind The Bollocks
- Grab the only microphone you’ll ever need with a staggering £211 saving at Thomann
- The Breakdown: Ruth Royall on her gospel-inspired vocal chain
May 4
- Spitfire Audio is inviting you to cosy-up to its low-cost Intimate Grand Piano plugin
- Victor Wooten shares his advice for budding bassists: "You bake a cake before you ice it"
- It’s just a little Crusher: AudioThing unveils affordable bitcrushing plugin that you might be able to get for free
- The best new free music-making software: fantastic freeware synths, drum machines and effects for May 2022
- Lehle offers more features for less footprint with its new Mono Volume S pedal
- Issue 383 of Future Music is out now
- The Breakdown: Ruth Royall breaks down her production workflow
May 3
- The recording of The Police's Walking On The Moon: "That guitar chord Andy came up with was just mind-blowing”
- Best earplugs for musicians 2022: protect your hearing from the practice room to your next gig
- Why now is the right time for guitarists to upgrade their multi-effects processor
- New clips from Randy Rhoads documentary revisit rivalry with Eddie Van Halen and the making of Ozzy Osbourne’s solo debut Blizzard Of Ozz
- Could Splice’s CoSo be the easiest music-making software ever?
- Epiphone unveils pair of stunning and generously spec’d Jerry Cantrell signature Les Paul Customs
- First look: how does Roland's Juno-X synth compare to the Juno-60 and 106?
- Let’s Eat Grandma: “Whenever I write on really good synths, it's not any better than when I'm writing with shitty MIDI sounds. It’s more about the feel”
- Slash ft Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators to release limited edition double-vinyl live album
- The Beatles And India documentary gets US Blu-ray/DVD release date
- Cherry Audio models the Minimoog and comes up with the Minimode, “the ultimate tribute” to Bob Moog’s iconic synth
- Metallica’s Kirk Hammett has a new signature Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal
- The Weeknd calls Ariana Grande “a beast on Pro Tools” as he praises her music production skills
- Gear Expo Summer 2022 is coming - tune in on 3 June
- Best budget in-ear monitors 2022: recommended cheap in-ears for musicians
May 2
- Chad Smith pays tribute to Taylor Hawkins as RHCP step in for New Orleans Jazz Festival headline slot
May 1
- Best vocal plugins 2022: our pick of vocal processing software to make your voice shine
- Roland at Synth Week 2022: Juno-X and the Fantom-0 series take a bow
- Oberheim's OB-X8: bringing the famed Oberheim sound to a new generation in Synth Week 2022
- Arturia at Synth Week 2022: Creating intuitive and inspiring music-making experiences
- Forbidden Planet at Synth Week 2022: a hybrid synth odyssey to the outer reaches of the sonic universe